


A Hunger Inside

by Tunfisken



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Alien Biology, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Among Us (Video Game) Setting, Angst and Porn, BDSM Undertones, Enthusiastic Consent, Found Family, Light Choking, M/M, Other, Porn IS the plot, Size Kink, Starvation, Succubi & Incubi, Tentacles, death mention, imposter biology made them do it but also they just wanted to so it all works out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:41:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29994747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tunfisken/pseuds/Tunfisken
Summary: Air was rushing through the ventilation ducts, and there was a faint hum of machinery from the dormant medbay scanner. Ever so often, the lights overhead would flicker. His stomach was cramping, and Grian curled in on himself on the bed, trying to ignore the hunger that clawed at him.The imposter didn't want to die.
Relationships: Etho/Grian
Comments: 20
Kudos: 126





	A Hunger Inside

**Author's Note:**

> So... Among Us sure is a game, huh?
> 
> I took the lore, threw it away, added my own spin on the imposters, and then made it porn. Mind the tags, stay safe, and have fun!

~ * ~

The imposter tried to hide the slight stumble in his step. He knew that humans were prone to such behaviours themselves, if they were getting inadequate amounts of the requirements for their survival - food, water, and sleep, to mention some.

However, there had been no deaths or disappearances on the vessel, and so there would be no logical reason for him to be getting insufficient amounts of rest or nutrition - at least in the eyes of the humans - and though the imposter was feeling the devastating forces of a mind-numbing hunger gnawing at his core, he could not let it be known.

The imposter didn’t want to die.

This ship was not like the other ones he’d been on. The crewmates seemed to instinctually trust one another from the get go. They travelled in packs, always offering to accompany anyone wandering alone through the hallways, or grabbing a seat next to whoever might have been seated alone in the cafeteria.

It was… strange. Intriguing.

And so, he’d waited. Observing, learning about the crew, rather than starting to feed right away, old tricks and routines that had never failed him before being put to the side for the time being as the imposter took in all the intricacies about this particular crew.

Orange, as eccentric and peculiar as he was cheerful. The imposter had looked questioningly at the braces on the bottom half of Orange’s suit for no more than a moment, having had no plans of voicing his curiosity at all - but Orange took to telling him about the supportive devices made of carbon fibre anyway, explaining that it helped him move around.

Black was just as cheery, often found stumbling around the hallways of the lower half of the ship. His senses were keen, and the way he carried himself spoke of confidence, of being at ease. He… always seemed happy to see the imposter, whenever he arrived.

White and Brown were brothers, or so the imposter had gathered. They sounded so much alike that it’d made his head spin, and despite their contrasting colours, the two of them had soon started pulling rather successful pranks around the ship, to the laughter and dismay of the other crewmates.

Seeing such playful behaviour among humans was… not something the imposter was used to.

Blue, Yellow, and Green were all but inseparable. Yellow was calm and kind, if a bit easily frustrated at some of the tasks around the ship. The imposter had heard him complaining about them to Green on more occasions than one. Green, on his end, was loud. Gleeful, influencive, and was the one to take charge whenever their unofficial leader was unavailable for whatever reason.

Blue, on his end… Blue had stopped the imposter in the hallway, once. Looming above him in height, gloved hand clasping his shoulder - and for a moment, the impostor was sure he’d been found out, despite not having actually done anything to raise suspicion yet.

In the end, Blue had only wanted to offer him his help and friendship, should the imposter - or Red, as the others called him - ever want or need it.

It was all so very, very strange.

And, of course, lastly, there was Cyan.

Cyan was like nothing the imposter had ever seen before, and it fascinated and frightened him greatly.

Behind the dark visor, he could feel the weight of sharp eyes on him, whenever they were in the same room. The imposter often saw the cameras above blinking red, and he knew, then, that it was Cyan who was manning them.

Cyan was also on top of vitals. Of tasks. It hadn’t taken the imposter long to see that the natural hierarchy had led to the man acting as their appointed leader, and for good reason. Cyan was smart, calm, and he never made a hasty decision. He was observant - Cyan never missed a thing.

  
  
  


_ “Red?” _

_ The imposter’s shoulders didn’t grow tense, but it was only from years of experience letting him contradict the impulse. “Yes? What’s up?” _

_ The man fell into step beside him, looming above him slightly as the two of them resumed walking. “I couldn’t help but notice that you were in electrical for a long time, there.” _

_ The imposter felt a sudden spark of fear run down his back, despite knowing that nothing incriminating would have been left behind there - after all, he hadn’t fed on anyone yet. Nor had he vented - he’d simply been waiting around for someone to wander by, so that he could join them. Observing was hard when there was no one around, after all, and it wasn’t like he had actually been trained in doing their strange tasks— _

_ When Red didn’t answer immediately, Cyan paused beside him, and Red couldn’t help but to freeze in place, too. Back slightly turned to the human who intimidated him so. _

_ “What were you doing in electrical, Red?” _

_ He took a stuttering breath - and forced himself to huddle in on himself, like he was ashamed. Going through the motions before opening his mouth. “I… I couldn’t get the task right. I was hoping someone would come help me,” he mumbled, voice wavering with partially faked embarrassment, because - well, it was true. He couldn’t do most of their tasks, and it had taken him a long time to learn how to accurately guess the amount of time he needed to spend on faking doing the different ones. _

_ It had nearly cost him his life, once. He’d learned quickly after that. _

_ Cyan was silent behind him. The moment dragged on, and the imposter felt prickles of dread travel up his back— _

_ “Next time, go find someone. It’s not a good look, standing around waiting in electrical.” _

  
  
  


So yes. Cyan didn’t miss a thing. Red was intimidated enough by him that he hadn’t dared to take the opportunity to feed yet, and he was beginning to really suffer from it.

Time was running out, he knew. He’d never meant for it to get this far, but the more the crew had included him in their generous offers of help and inclusivity, their bounts of  _ play,  _ the harder it was for Red to see them simply as  _ food.  _

It had been easier on previous ships, when the humans had kept their distance. When Red hadn’t gotten to see them engage in such obviously social behaviours, something so unlike what could be categorized as strictly survival.

He didn’t quite  _ care  _ for them, not yet.

...But Red imagined that he might, if things continued the way they were going. He found that he didn’t want to drain them, like he would have had no qualms about doing in the past. Not when he’d gotten firsthand proof of them being so  _ alive.  _ Not as lesser beings, not as potential sustenance - they were  _ people. _ Just like himself.

He still didn’t want to die.

The imposters couldn’t feed on their own kind, of course. They’d always been a species that infiltrated. They mingled, imitated and blended in. Some of their feeding sources were more compatible than others - their rich sources of energy and desire so bountiful that even the greediest of imposters could never drain them out completely.

Imposters trained for years to be able to go unnoticed among them, learning their behaviours and forms of communication. Red was no different. He’d mostly stuck with humans after he’d first shifted into their form - he enjoyed this shape, the dexterity and bodily responses. Now, all this body was offering him was nerves. Anxiety, dread, fear - and  _ lust. _

Red  _ hungered. _

  
  
  


The days were starting to blend together.

Red’s vision was swimming, and his limbs were growing clumsier, heavier. It was hard to focus on his crewmates’ words, much less to accurately estimate the time he’d spent fiddling around with wires and levers, buttons and water valves.

He was slipping up.

One day, Black had grabbed him by the hand and tugged him towards communications, wanting him to keep the human company while doing wires. Red had barely been able to stay on his feet at the sudden proximity, the contact. His heart was pounding, such a frantic, human thing - the muscle speeding up in excitement and anticipation.

His breathing had gone shallow as he followed Black down the hallways, the crewmate talking about something nonsensical that Red wasn’t able to pay attention to - not when a human had willingly placed its hand in his, holding onto him with care and affection, initiating the contact—

Only the cameras blinking red overhead as the two of them crossed the threshold to communications had been what stopped him from folding beneath his all-consuming hunger, from offering himself up to Black, right then and there.

  
  
  


Another time, it was Green. Red had been staring dumbly at the keypad in reactor, trying to figure out the sequence of the strange, human symbols as his head was spinning and stomach was churning. He couldn’t just leave - Cyan was right next door, in security. Watching the cameras,  _ always _ watching—

Besides, Green, Yellow and Blue were in the room with him.

Yellow had been doing a task that the humans were referring to as ‘Simon says’, and Blue was playfully taunting him by calling out random patterns and sounds in a strangely melodic fashion. 

Green, on the other hand, was approaching him. The human didn’t make an attempt to be stealthy, loud footsteps clunking against the metal floor, but it still made Red tense up.

“Red!” That was the only indication Green gave him before slinging an arm around his back, making him stagger on unsteady legs beneath the sudden change in balance. “You having trouble over there, my friend?”

He  _ was  _ having trouble. He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, and he was feeling faint enough that he couldn’t quite remember how long this task usually took the humans to complete in the first place. Slowly, he muttered, overly aware of Green’s arm around his shoulders, “It’s fine. I’ve got it.”

Green pulled away slightly at that, and internally, Red  _ wept. _

“Hey now, it’s fine if you’re struggling a bit with numbers. Scar is the same, you know? Dyslexia can be a bitch - here. Why don’t I help you out?”

Red stared numbly as Green reached around him to press the keypads in an order that didn’t make sense to him any more than the symbols themselves did. He didn’t know what ‘dyslexia’ was, but he made sure to memorize the word, anyway. It would be useful to know that it would work as an explanation for why he couldn’t do the tasks with the symbols in the future.

Soon the keypad lit up, letting them know that the task was completed.

“There we go! All done,” Green said, and the imposter could almost hear the widening on his mouth as he spoke. Humans did that when they felt positive or playful, he knew. He hadn’t ever felt the instinctive pull of it before he joined this particular crew.

Red tilted his head until his visor was facing the human fully. “...thank you, Green.”

“Aw, no problem, buddy. And you can call me Tango, you know? There’s no need for designated colours among friends, right?”

_ Friends.  _

Red had been trusted, before. But he’d never been called a  _ friend. _ It made his insides feel warm, even as the hunger was surging through him, Green - no,  _ Tango’s _ arm was a heavy, warm weight around him.

Red didn’t have a name of his own, but Tango’s declaration of friendship was enough to prompt him into sharing the closest thing he had to it; the name of his carefully crafted human persona. His alibi, his fake, little life—

“Then… you can call me Grian.”

  
  
  


The situation was getting dire. Grian  _ needed  _ to feed - his body was slowly shutting down, and yet temptation was all around him, every casual brush the crewmates made against him leaving him salivating - a pat on the back here, a carelessly slung arm over his shoulder there.

He’d waited too long, and now his options were running out.

The crew never travelled alone now - indeed, even he, himself, would rarely find himself traversing the dim hallways of the ship on his own anymore. There was always someone there, one of his human crewmates, wanting to spend time with him. Accompanying him. Standing too close,  _ willingly, temptingly— _

And he didn’t want to die. But… he didn’t want to lose this, either.

  
  
  


Grian realised he’d run out of time when he no longer had the energy to make it up the ladder to the sleeping quarters, one night after he’d completed faking all of his tasks, doing his rounds of socialising, of observing his strange group of humans and their unusual behaviours.

His arms didn’t have the strength to raise him up the ladder, and so he’d resigned himself to spending the night in the medical bay, huddled up on one of the uncomfortable cots there.

Grian dragged his feet on the way over. It all seemed so hopeless - because he couldn’t feed from someone when there would be witnesses. Even if he thought he could trust himself enough to not completely drain the human, he was certain that the crew would be less than impressed with finding out there had been an imposter among them all this time.

If he was caught, he’d be thrown out of the airlock, left to suffocate and freeze in the vast nothingness of space. He’d seen it happen before.

If he didn’t feed, his chances wouldn’t be much better - it’d be slower, but still, perhaps, a bit more kind. Slowly fading away from hunger while surrounded, for the first time in his life since he’d left the colonies, with people who weren’t scared of him, that seemed to actually enjoy having him around - that  _ cared  _ for him…

If anything, Grian thought he might be able to count himself lucky.

Most of his kind who found their demise in space would do so on much harsher terms than he found himself in.

He climbed up on the cot closest to the door, and curled up on himself. His back was facing the entrance of the room, and he let his eyes slip shut as he listened to the sounds of the ship.

Air was rushing through the ventilation ducts, and there was a faint hum of machinery from the medbay scanner lying dormant in standby mode. Ever so often, the lights would sizzle with electricity - there was a reason why the crew had daily tasks of maintaining the wires and fuse boxes around the ship.

When he really focused, Grian swore he could hear the deep thrumming of the reactor from where he was lying. It was almost enough to distract him from how his stomach was wrapped up in knots, cramping and twisting as he curled tighter in on himself, trying to put pressure over the empty feeling, to fool himself into imagining that his stomach was full. That all was well. That he wasn’t dying.

Then, through the particular brand of loudness that somehow made him feel like the ship was as quiet as the vacuum of space itself - a sound.

Stupidly, Grian felt his body react to it, wasting precious energy on elevating his heartbeat, breath quickening.

There were footsteps making their way through the corridor outside the medical bay. The sound of heavy boots against the metal flooring echoed and distorted with the lack of anything else to fill the quiet night, and Grian couldn’t help but to curl up around himself a bit tighter, hoping and dreading what might happen if his crewmates - and when had he started thinking of them as  _ his?  _ \- found him.

The footsteps grew louder and louder - and then they stopped.

Grian’s heartbeat was pounding in his chest. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, the feeling of familiarity and dread mixing together and making him feel the urge to stay perfectly still, hoping against hope that he hadn’t been seen.

Then, a voice called out, breaking the silence - if not the tension - in the room. “Red? Are you okay?”

Ah, Grian thought to himself when he recognised the voice. Of course it would be Cyan - who else would be awake and alone, walking through the hallway away from security at this hour of the night?

Grian didn’t answer - he was already shivering, muscles trembling with tension as he tried to keep himself from moving.

He didn’t want to die.

He was so hungry.

“...Grian?”

He gasped in surprise at hearing the name his… his human  _ friends  _ had taken to calling him, spoken in Cyan’s calm voice. Did the human consider them—

The footsteps returned when he didn’t answer this time either, and the closer the proximity, the harder it became for him not to move.

Because, Grian realised as Cyan stopped beside the cot, he  _ could.  _ Cyan was alone. There were only the two of them awake. No one would interrupt, would disturb them - there would be no one to catch him if he decided to feed. Even more - Cyan scared him. The human noticed too much, it felt like he could see right through him. It was unnerving, and  _ dangerous. _

...but Cyan had called him by his name. The name his  _ friends _ used for him.

The imposter… Red,  _ Grian,  _ didn’t want to die.

He just didn’t want to hurt his crew, either. And they  _ were  _ his - truly and completely. If he decided to feed from Cyan, the other man would have him thrown out of the airlock if Grian let him live. And if he didn’t—

Grian had been so lost in thought that he flinched almost violently beneath Cyan’s hand when the human reached down to touch him. Before he could think of how bad it was, that the human would be so close right  _ now,  _ when he was so weak, so  _ desperate,  _ his control slipping and his hunger  _ surging  _ as the man touched him of his own free volition—

“Please - don’t  _ touch  _ me,” Grian all but snarled, biting back his instinctual moan while throwing a warning glare Cyan’s way that the man couldn’t possibly catch from beneath his visor.

Cyan drew his hand back to himself, raising them in a placating motion, but he didn’t step away from the cot, either. “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you, there. Are you ill? Why are you sleeping in medbay, and not in the dorms?”

Grian took a shuddering breath - and he managed to calm himself down some, now that he wasn’t being barraged with the intense emotions his own body was flooding him with at Cyan’s gloved hand upon his shoulder.

“I… just wanted to be alone. I’m fine.”

He really wasn’t. If he didn’t feed, he would die. He was just postponing the inevitable at this point. And still - losing the thing he’d found here, among his crew, would be worse. He felt like crying, all of a sudden, at the hopelessness of his situation.

Cyan hesitated beside him, visor tilting towards the entrance of medbay for a moment before returning to Grian’s curled up shape. Then, he spoke up again, sounding uncertain. “I’m sorry for saying this, but… I don’t believe you. Tell me the truth.”

Grian made himself seem even smaller on the bed, stomach cramping and frustration building. Why Cyan, why  _ now.  _ Always so observant, he always seemed to  _ know— _

“I-it’s nothing, really. Just a bit dizzy, I’ll be fine by morning—”

Cyan’s voice deepened, taking on a more stern edge, “Stop  _ lying.” _

And Grian burst, his voice coming out way too loud and echoing back at him from the metal walls of the medbay.

“I’m  _ hungry.” _

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Even the ship itself seemed to hold its breath around them, and Grian felt his heart pounding against his ribs, frantic with fear, and yet the rest of his body remained frozen.

“You… are one of  _ them,  _ aren’t you. An imposter.” The way it was said didn’t make it seem like a question.

This was it. Cyan was going to call for an emergency meeting, and Grian was going to die. He couldn’t help it - he  _ cried. _

Harsh, painful sobs constricted his chest, and if Grian could have, he would’ve curled up so small that he would have disappeared altogether. “I’m  _ sorry,”  _ he said, voice wobbling and wet from his tears, breath fogging up the visor as he felt Cyan’s eyes on him.

Cyan’s voice was almost curious when he next spoke. “I knew the crew’s efficiency didn’t match up with the amount of people on the ship. It’s been so long that I was starting to think we might have gotten lucky, after all - so, what? Were you playing the long game? Couldn’t get any of us alone, too risky to off us while we were in groups?”

Grian sobbed harder. “I don’t  _ want  _ to kill anyone.”

“Uh-huh. You just want to eat us, right?” Cyan sounded almost patronizing as he said it, and it hurt more than Grian thought it would have.

_ “No,”  _ Grian said, voice still coming out too weak and wobbly, but it was the best he could do. “I’m not… we don’t  _ eat  _ people. We just…”

Cyan waited for him to continue while Grian struggled to find the right word for how his kind ate.

“...we just consume energy, that’s all. Affectionate, romantic, sexual - that’s _it._ Usually, imposters will… drain people, that’s true, but I don’t want to do that. You’re my crew.”

The emotions, the frantic pounding of his heart, the explanation - it was all taking its toll on him. Grian’s tears dried up as his exhaustion settled heavily in his bones, stomach churning. His limbs relaxed some, no longer having the spare energy to keep up the tight curled up shape he’d been in.

He breathed, shallowly.

“You… really don’t mean us any harm?”

Grian was surprised to hear the human speak. “No,” he replied, voice dry and croaking. He coughed, once, hands twitching. “So please just… go. You’ll be safe up in the sleeping quarters, and by morning I’ll…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence, the gravity of it too heavy for him to bear.

Grian closed his eyes, and waited for the sound of footsteps.

It never came.

What  _ did  _ happen was the warm weight of Cyan’s gloved hand settling on his shoulder, making Grian gasp, eyes shooting back open as he stared up at the human.

“Cyan?”

A gloved hand raised to remove the protective helmet from Cyan’s head. A quiet click and hiss sounded as the suit released, and for the first time, Grian got to see the human that intimidated him so.

White hair, mismatched eyes - one red and one black, both staring intensely at him. Dark fabric was covering the lower half of Cyan’s face, but it wasn’t enough to hide the fact that he looked beautiful, even to the imposter’s eyes.

The dark fabric moved when Cyan spoke. “Etho. You can call me Etho. Now, what do you need me to do?”

Grian blinked, feeling like he was missing something. “What?”

Etho’s hand was still on his shoulder, and it flexed, once, reminding him that it was there. “To help you. What do you need? You don’t want to hurt us, and you said that imposters  _ usually  _ kill when they feed - not always. So long as you’re able to do it safely, I don’t see why I should let you die. Imposter or no imposter, you’re still a part of the crew, the same as everyone else.”

Grian was in shock. It… had to be a trick, right? It seemed too good to be true, that Cyan -  _ Etho  _ \- of all humans, would be not only the person to find out, but that he was also offering to—

“Don’t,” Grian whispered softly, but it was a half hearted protest. He needed it. “Don’t force yourself to… I mean, you shouldn’t have—”

Etho cut him off. “What do you need?”

Grian swallowed, feeling his resolve crumbling away with the last of his reservations. “Please.”

“What. Do. You. Need.”

Grian breathed, too desperate to fight it, “I… need you to touch me. Please.”

If Etho had any reservations to his request, he didn’t show it. He remained standing beside the cot, but to Grian’s relief, Etho’s other hand joined the first one, both palms settling heavily on his shoulder and hip, gloved thumbs rubbing soothingly into his skin in a way that was noticeable even through the suit. The hand on his hip, especially, carried enough  _ intent  _ that Grian  _ had  _ to roll over onto his back, breath catching.

“Like this?” Etho said, and when Grian met his eyes, he found a heat there, something he would not have been able to guess upon based on how steady the other man’s voice was.

His chest heaved - and Grian started clawing clumsily at his own helmet, needing the barriers between them to be  _ gone.  _ The moment his face was unobscured, the red helmet clattering to the ground somewhere beside him, Grian stammered out,  _ “Yes, _ yes, it’s good, it’s—”

The hand on his shoulder moved up to rest against his cheek. Grian swallowed the rest of his rambling sentence, eyes meeting Etho’s once again, just in time for the human to speak, “There you are,” he breathed out, the coarse fabric of the glove he was wearing rubbing over the soft skin beneath Grian’s eye. “You’re a pretty one, huh?”

Grian was shivering, back arching slightly against the firm surface of the bed. He was scrambling at the clasps of his environmental suit, needing to free himself of the layers, needing Etho to remove his stupid gloves, needed to feel his touch directly against his  _ skin  _ \- now that Grian had gotten the smallest of tastes, the promise of a feeding to come, so tantalisingly close that it was making his mouth water, his eyes grow heavy-lidded—

As soon as he’d managed to wrangle the upper half of the suit away from him, yanking the gloves off and making it easier to breathe,  _ finally,  _ Grian’s bare fingers settled heavily on Etho’s wrist, wrapping around the hand currently petting his face.

Grian swallowed. “Your glove. Can I—”

Etho didn’t let him finish, eyes sparkling with a heat that made Grian’s gut  _ clench.  _ The promise of things to come, of wishes and desire, and action, hopefully - two gloved fingertips were dipping past his lips.

Grian blinked - and then he moaned, deeply, gutturally, feeling the coarse fabric dragging over his tongue, stroking it, holding the muscle  _ down— _

“Bite,” Etho ordered, barely sounding breathless. Grian did as he was asked. The rough fabric bunched up between his teeth, and he understood Etho’s intent when the human started tugging his hand away, making the glove slip off of him, exposing pale, long fingers.

Grian watched with unconcealed hunger as Etho used the naked hand to tug the fabric covering the man’s face down, only to then raise his other hand to his own mouth, repeating the same process he’d had Grian do just moments before. Sharp canines digging into the fabric, a tug, a pale face appearing before him in full - and then Grian went breathless as skin met skin.

Etho’s hands were pressed flat to the planes of Grian’s stomach, and he arched into it, mindless, helpless to do anything but seek out the other man’s touch, chasing the feeling of slightly cool hands against his own flushed skin.

Strong hands moved up Grian’s chest, thumbs gently caressing his nipples while long fingers spread out on either side of his ribs. Grian trembled beneath it, the tough so light, so careful - his back was tensing with it, he could tell, trying to press himself further into Etho’s hands.

There was something about this, Grian distantly mused, something about a human touching him so willingly, none of Grian’s influence hanging over the other man as he offered up his lust, his caresses, so easily, right out in the open. No need to hide away, no need to seduce and convince—

One of Etho’s hands were dragging down his stomach again, shifting lower and lower, until, finally, it dipped beneath where the rest of Grian’s suit was bunched up around his hips. At the first curl of fingers around his dick, Grian froze.

Then, with a surge of movement, he bucked, right up into Etho’s grip on him, a loud moan spilling from his lips. The scent of Etho’s arousal clouded his senses, then. Thick and delicious and as tangible as the hands on his skin. Grian could feel himself growing stronger, his energy slowly regaining. He didn’t feel quite as weak, quite as fragile, not like he was about to tremble apart at any given moment.

It made it easier to keep bucking up into Etho’s hand, meeting both the tight grip around his dick, and the soft rub of a calloused thumb over his nipple.

“Oh,” Grian gasped, feeling another surge of lust welling up from Etho, how it beat over him, through him. The grip around his dick was heavenly, but he felt the other man holding back, wanting something else, something… “Etho -  _ please.” _

“What do you need?” Etho murmured again, a more affectionate echo of the way he’d all but demanded an answer before, and Grian felt more shivers travelling down his spine at the gravelly tone in his voice.

Grian twisted on the cot, temperature climbing. “You, your  _ want, _ just - I can  _ feel  _ you. I know you want -  _ something,  _ and you can  _ have  _ it—”

A loud groan escaped the human’s throat, and Grian couldn’t help but to stare up at him as if transfixed. Etho’s eyelids were hooded, and a pink tint had spread out over his face.

“How do I know it’s not too much?”

Grian swallowed, and Etho’s hands never stopped moving, kept stroking and rubbing him even as they spoke— “You… you set the pace. If it starts affecting you, you stop, or speak up, or… yeah. Yeah,” he said, steeling himself, knowing that letting Etho call the shots would be the easiest way for Grian to tell if he was becoming too greedy, too lost in the tantalizing energy that was radiating off of Etho’s body, luring him in.

Etho took a deep breath, before speaking up, his voice deep enough to make Grian’s toes curl with the heat in it. “I want to fuck you.” The words sounded almost wondrous, like a gentle confession.

Grian ached. “You can. Oh,  _ please,  _ yes, you can, you can—”

“Shush,” Etho gently told him, smiling faintly when Grian trembled, moving beneath his hands. “How… human is your anatomy? What is it safe to prepare you with?”

“Oh,” Grian said, feeling strangely touched by the consideration in that question. “Whatever humans use, really. But it’d be easiest for me to…” With a start, Grian realised that he’d never shown his less-than-human parts to someone not of his kind before - not while they were lucid and level headed, like Etho was now. “Um.”

Etho seemed to pick up on his hesitation, and - to Grian’s surprise - the human leaned down to press a quick kiss to his forehead. It left his heart fluttering, and a strange heat colouring his cheeks red.

“It’s okay. You can do whatever you need to do - I won’t judge.”

Slowly, Grian whispered, “Okay.”

Grian carefully batted the hand on his dick away, before shoving the rest of his environmental suit and thermo layer off of him, kicking the course materials to the floor. Once he was fully naked, he eased himself over onto his side, bending his knees to keep his balance as he felt Etho’s eyes on his skin.

He wanted to stay in his human form as much as possible - there was just something… appealing, Grian mused, about feeding from the same species he was mimicking. And humans, in particular, were so responsive to touch, to advances - Grian wanted to keep that. And so, he changed as little as possible, sweat beading on his forehead as he targeted the small of his back.

“Ah,” Grian gasped out when he felt the amorphous tendrils that made up the imposters’ true shape slowly started curling out from the lower part of his spine, shaking out the stiff feeling that came from holding a shape for an extended period of time.

He stretched the limbs gently, getting a feel for how it tugged at the rest of his skin, muscles contracting to accomodate for the strange sensation of being in between forms.

“What is… oh. Oh my.”

Grian’s eyes snapped back open, and he shot Etho a nervous glance. The human didn’t  _ seem _ disgusted, or even like he was freaking out. No, Etho was staring at where the wriggling limbs were dragging over Grian’s own skin, petting himself in a soothing manner as he awaited for Etho’s reaction to what he was seeing.

“Is that what you look like?”

Slowly, Grian nodded, shoulders untensing just a bit at the calm tone in Etho’s voice. “Y-yeah,” Grian said. “We’re mimics, and most of us prefer to stay in our borrowed forms, but… yes.”

“You’re beautiful.” Etho sounded like he was in awe. It made something in Grian’s stomach squirm with a mix of embarrassment and heat. He’d never placed much thought into what his kind looked like - as a species of mimics, there’d never been much use for it. He didn’t know why Etho’s compliment made him feel so affected. “Can I touch you?”

Grian considered the human for a moment, both of their faces flushed red. Etho waited patiently, and, perhaps, that was why Grian slowly nodded his consent, from the fact that Etho wasn’t pushing it. That, and the fact that Etho’s lust hadn’t diminished at the visual reminder that Grian, truly, was not human - the cluster of semi-opaque tentacles squirming from his lower back a testament of that.

A pale hand reached out, and Grian held his breath.

Etho’s forearm brushed against his side as the man reached over him, fingers slightly damp after having been wrapped around Grian’s dick only moments prior. Grian shuddered at the first touch to the still-awakening limbs - and without him having to think about it, one of the tendrils curled around Etho’s palm, petting it.

“You’re warm,” Etho said, and Grian squirmed, feeling naked in a way that the lack of protective gear simply couldn’t. “And… slick?”

Panting, Grian nodded. “Yeah. I was thinking I could…”

Etho seemed to catch his drift, fingers stroking the soft surface of the tendrils almost absentmindedly. “You’re gonna work yourself open for me?” His voice was even deeper, now. It left a pleasant taste in Grian’s mouth.

“Yes.”

Etho’s eyes were burning with an intensity that made Grian break out in a sweat, excited shivers dancing down his spine. “Do it. I want to see.”

Grian took a trembling breath, feeling the liquid heat in his bones, warmth pooling in the pit of his stomach as his face burned beneath the human’s attention - and then he raised his upper leg, Etho’s hand slipping away from the small of his back to rest on Grian’s bent knee, steadying him.

It didn’t take much conscious thought for Grian to get the tentacles to move. There weren’t many of them, and they weren’t too big, and that made it easy for him to let them reach down behind himself, dipping between his own legs to prod at his entrance.

Grian keened in the back of his throat when Etho’s grip on his knee tightened, and he felt the slick being lathered over his skin as the heat inside him surged, the tip of one tentacle carefully dipping past his rim, squirming gently inwards.

“Ah,” he gasped, eyes going half-lidded as he couldn’t help but reach deeper inside himself, letting the tendril expand a bit, the width increasing as slick eased the way. Etho’s eyes were watching him so intently, and Grian keened when he heard the human’s shuddering exhale, the smell of lust and heat radiating off of him and making Grian feel pleasantly full.

“Look at you,” Etho breathed, the hand not on Grian’s knee reaching down to gently prod at his entrance, feeling the way Grian’s skin grew taut as the tentacle started stretching him out. “Can you handle another one?”

Grian’s heart was pounding so fast that it almost made him dizzy. Wordlessly, he stretched another tendril down, before it, too, squirmed past Etho’s curious fingers, the slim tip wriggling inside as Grian moaned helplessly when the slight burn increased.

“Do you have that much control over all of your body?” Etho asked him, and Grian blinked, slowly, feeling a droplet of sweat running down his temple.

“I… to a certain degree, yes? Why?”

Etho licked his lips, and Grian could see the way his eyes narrowed, pupils taking over the majority of the man’s irises—

“So if I asked you to loosen up, right now… could you?”

Oh. _ “Yes,” _ Grian gasped, blood rushing behind his eardrums, face growing warmer and dick throbbing between his legs.

“Do it.”

With a shrill moan, Grian did. He felt his muscles flex, and then relax, growing pliant as the stretch suddenly dissipated, the two tentacles sliding in easily now. His breath hitched when Etho’s thumb dipped in as well, the pad of it calloused, much rougher than the slick surface of tentacles.

“Damn,” Etho whispered. His voice sounded breathless, and Grian couldn’t help but cry out, fucking himself with the tentacles just a bit. It felt so  _ good,  _ the way Etho was enjoying this, enjoying  _ him,  _ the obvious lust rolling off of him in waves, delicious and overwhelming.

“A-ah…  _ Etho—” _

Etho hummed, before withdrawing his thumb, dragging it gently over Grian’s perineum before taking a small step back, hands leaving Grian altogether. “Feel free to go back - a size where I won’t hurt you, and where it’ll feel good. And get on your back.” With that, Etho started undressing.

As Grian watched, more and more skin was revealed to him. It felt slightly like he was being boiled alive, flesh overheated and reddened, his blood simmering in the best of ways. He couldn’t help but fuck into himself with the tentacles a few more times, moaning quietly as he tightened back up to his previous size, the pleasant burn resuming to just the way he liked it - then, he let his shape return to fully human (or, well. As close to human as he was able to), and rolled over onto his back, spread knees splayed over the edge of the cot, hole exposed and dripping.

He gripped onto the bedsheets on either side of his body, breathing shallowly as he watched Etho stepping out of his clothes.

The human was all pale skin and defined muscles. There was an elegance to his movements, Grian noticed, that the environmental suit usually hid away, but now, freed from the constraining layers, it was impossible to miss.

“Scoot closer to me. I won’t let you fall, I promise.” Etho’s voice was deep, and gentle. To Grian, it felt not unlike a reassuring touch, reminding him of arms slung across tense shoulders, hands squeezing his own as they dragged him through the dark, trust shown and trust given.

Grian nodded, lips pursed against the plethora of sounds that wanted to make themselves known as he moved, Etho’s palms settling on Grian’s thighs as he changed positions until his legs were no longer supported on the cot at all. Etho pressed closer, and Grian gasped, hands tightening into fists on the white bedsheets as he felt a hot, hard length rubbing against his perineum, the underside of his dick, over the slickness that still coated his hole—

“Bend your legs upward for me?”

Panting, Grian did as Etho asked. Steady hands helped guide his legs into the position Etho wanted him in, not stopping until Grian’s thighs were pressed up against his chest. It made breathing slightly harder - especially when Etho leaned over him, covering him with warmth and forcing even more of the air out of his lungs.

When Etho straightened back up, Grian had to blink away the way his vision had gone slightly cloudy, and he met the human’s gaze with an encouraging nod.

“I’m going to fuck you now,” Etho said, and  _ oh,  _ of Grian didn’t have to arch his back a bit at that, breath escaping him in a slight wheeze when Etho’s hands on his thighs remained firm, holding him down—

“Please, please,” Grian begged.

When the head of Etho’s cock first nudged against his hole, Grian had to throw his head back, hair splaying over the bedsheets as a small cry escaped him.

Etho didn’t make him wait for it, and for that Grian was grateful. When he felt the cock pressing in, dragging over sensitive skin and filling him up with heat, the sound of Etho’s moan was enough to make his heartbeat catch slightly in his chest.

“Oh,  _ fuck,”  _ Etho groaned, head falling forwards until it was hanging limply from his neck. “You like it this tight?”

More of Etho’s length pressed in, and Grian had to sob with it, feeling his walls being spread open, stretching deliciously, carrying with it a sting that made his blood boil, heat gathering quickly in his lower stomach as he babbled,  _ “Yes, _ I - oh, you feel… you—”

Etho thrust shallowly against him, and Grian lost his breath. His grip on the sheets was so tight that he worried for a moment that the fabric might rip - and then Etho gave another thrust, hips flush to Grian’s ass, and the thought slipped from his mind. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” There was a slight smile audible in Etho’s voice.

Grian moaned brokenly, even as he hummed his agreement, a shaky smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Y-you are, too. I can tell,” he said, and Etho’s responding chuckle was hoarse enough to make him clench down, so hard that it made his blood boil beneath his skin.

Etho groaned while Grian tightened around him before he started to thrust, slowly working up a rhythm that made Grian’s toes curl, limbs trembling.

“Yeah,” Etho said, moaning as he leaned forwards again, making Grian just about bend in two, thighs pressed flush to his chest. “You’re being so good for me, after all - how could I not?”

There was something in Etho’s words, just then. Something Grian could taste, faintly, a rich feeling on the back of his tongue, something in the way Etho smelled when he said it. Something Grian wanted to explore, perhaps, if Etho would let him.

Grian took a shallow breath - it was all he could do, what with the weight pressing down on his ribs - and asked, “You like it when I behave?”

Etho’s scent flared up - the rich taste intensified, and Grian had to squeal in delight when the thrusts became more frantic, just for a moment—

The human’s eyes met his, and Grian shivered beneath the heated gaze, a small smile still playing on his lips. “I do,” Etho said, looking down at him, expression searching. His white hair was hanging into his eyes, and Grian didn’t think about it - he just untangled one of his hands from the sheets, and reached up, gently brushing the strands away.

Etho’s eyes closed, a small,  _ “Fuck,”  _ escaping him. Then— “Especially when you’re treating me so well. Working yourself open, and then tightening right back up again, being so sweet for me. Taking everything I’m giving you.”

_ “Yes,”  _ Grian hissed, feeling the energy rolling off of Etho in waves that grew in intensity, becoming almost overwhelming as the desire between the two of them grew thick.

At the next thrust, Etho’s cock dragged over Grian’s prostate hard enough to make him cry out, eyes squeezing shut at the white spots dancing across his vision - only for the sound to get choked off, almost, when calloused fingertips pressed down on his lips.

Grian blinked his eyes back open, parting his lips in a pant as Etho kept stroking across the seam of his lips, pressing down on the plump flesh. Etho shushed him gently, but Grian could hear the strain in his voice as the heat between them grew. “Quiet, pretty thing. We wouldn’t want to wake up the crew.”

He couldn’t help it - Etho’s eyes were half lidded, and he was watching Grian’s mouth with something akin to wonder. When Etho pressed down on his bottom lip again, Grian let his mouth fall open, his tongue darting out to wetten the slightly salty skin he found there.

Etho groaned, before letting his fingers slip past Grian’s lips, stroking over his tongue. His index and middle finger pressed down on the muscle, pinning Grian’s tongue down - and that, too—

Like he was being taken - being fucked, had,  _ loved  _ \- from both sides, and Etho’s intense gaze on him—

The muscles of his lower stomach bunched up as Grian curled in on himself, feeling his pleasure cresting, peaking - and then he fell, sweet release making him call out hoarsely, Etho’s loud groan in his ear when Grian’s body contracted around him, fucking him through it. 

Once his body had been reduced to twitches and small, breathy sounds at each thrust, Etho slowed his movements until he was shallowly grinding into Grian’s ass. The fingers had pulled out of his mouth at some point, Grian distantly noted. There was drool on his chin, and the beginning of tears clinging to his lashes.

Etho took a shuddering breath, still grinding against him. “Do you need me to stop?” He sounded almost pained as he asked, and Grian had to swallow down a whine as he felt  _ just  _ how much Etho needed to move.

“No, it’s fine, I don’t—  _ please,”  _ Grian said, and his voice was so breathy that he barely even recognised it as his own. “‘m still hard, you see? I was -  _ haah  _ \- I was meant for this. Keep going.”

Etho moaned like Grian had given him the most devastatingly wonderful news of his life - it made Grian’s stomach flutter, heat still pooling in his abdomen, the edge having been taken off by his orgasm, but no less hungry than before.

“Fuck - you really  _ were  _ made for this, huh?” The way Etho repeated his words made the statement that Grian had meant quite literally - it  _ was  _ how the imposters fed, after all - sound downright  _ filthy.  _

When Etho picked up the pace he’d set before, Grian had to moan for it, his voice mixing in with Etho’s own sounds of pleasure, of desperation as the man chased his own orgasm, seeking out the release they both wanted him to find in Grian’s body.

The heat inside Grian was building up again as well, his body sensitive and kept near the edge as the two of them kept going, all desperate movements and breathy cries.

A warm palm settled on the thin skin of Grian’s throat. Not applying pressure - simply holding him there, Etho’s thumb digging slightly into the soft flesh beneath Grian’s jaw. His breathing wasn’t constricted, but Grian had to gasp for it anyway, their eyes meeting when Grian let his head relax back against the mattress.

Etho was beautiful. Flushed skin and white hair, eyes glazed over, lips parted as he breathed heavily. Grian could feel how close he was, and he couldn’t help but clench down on him, making Etho’s rhythm stutter as the man moaned deeply, eyebrows creasing into a slight frown.

“C-could you,” Etho panted, and Grian had to arch his neck up into the hand on his throat at that, at hearing  _ just  _ how wrecked Etho sounded—

“Anything,” Grian said, thighs quivering as he felt himself getting so, so close. “Anything, please.”

For just a moment, Etho’s grip tightened around his neck. Grian cried out, the sound coming out strangled, the heat in his stomach spiking harshly—

Etho’s voice was rough - harsh, almost, with how deep it was, how hungry and desperate he sounded when he next spoke. “Tighten yourself for me.”

Grian moaned around a sob as he did as Etho asked. His muscles seized - and suddenly, the heavy weight and feel of Etho inside him grew overwhelming, intense—

He wailed as a second orgasm tore through him, the burning stretch as Etho fucked him open growing mellower around the edges as he came, body convulsing around the suddenly overwhelming length, spearing him open. Over the sound of blood rushing in his ears, as well as his own loud cries, he distantly heard Etho curse above him. A moan loud enough to drown out his own - and then there was warmth filling him, slick heat spilling inside him as Etho came.

Grian was tight enough to feel Etho’s pulse echo inside him, cock throbbing with the waves of his orgasm, and the size of him had already been amazing, had been perfect - it was now enough to make him forget how to breathe, how to think—

Etho’s hips were still moving against him in sloppy, jerky thrusts. The human moaned so sweetly for him - and then, the hand on Grian’s throat was back, just as gentle as before, just as possessive, except this time it was joined by Etho’s other hand curling around his dick, and the touch was startling, electrifying, enough so for Grian to  _ scream— _

He was clenching down again, and his breath was stolen right out of his throat as he clamped down, making Etho feel impossibly bigger, the warmth inside him incomprehensible—

“More, Grian - just a bit more,” Etho growled, but it sounded desperate, like he was begging - closer to asking permission, rather than demanding - and Grian sobbed, his tears finally spilling over, running down his cheeks as he felt Etho’s hand tighten around him.

He shrunk down just that tiny bit more.

This time, he didn’t need Etho’s hand to help him quiet down his noises.

It shook through him with a devastating force, his breath being punched out of him, no sound escaping other than the rush of air leaving his lungs, wheezing past his throat. Etho’s hand was working his dick, but he could barely feel it against the liquid heat that had replaced his very insides, warmth and numbness setting in as his vision whited out.

His body convulsed, and Etho’s moan sounded almost as wrecked as Grian was feeling. He swore he could feel Etho’s cock twitching inside him, so tight, held so snugly by his own body, so deeply that Grian thought he could feel it in his stomach.

Filling him up, giving him what he  _ needed. _

Through the lust and desire and simmering heat, Grian got a taste of something else. Something more faint, more delicate, seeping through the connection between Etho and himself. It was… sweeter, somehow. 

Grian only realised Etho was talking when the ringing in his ears subsided, and he blinked up at the taller man when his eyes managed to focus properly.

“Sweet thing, pretty one, Grian, dear, you can relax now. Did so well for me, so good.” Etho’s voice was but a sweet rumble, eyes warm with affection as a gentle hand caressed Grian’s cheek.

With a gasp, settled back within his body more fully - twin groans escaped the two of them when Grian’s muscles relaxed again, returning to his normal size, Etho’s by now soft cock slipping from his body and making Grian feel slightly hollow… but satisfied.

Etho slumped against him, then, once Grian’s body was no longer constricting around him, legs relaxing from where they’d been bent up to his chest. Etho’s forehead landed on his shoulder, and Grian raised a trembling hand to gently card his fingers through Etho’s sweat soaked hair, feeling the man’s heaving breaths brushing over his skin as the two grew quiet.

When it became clear to him that Etho wasn’t about to move anytime soon, Grian took matters into his own hands.

He was still trembling slightly, but his hunger was sated and his body was stronger for it - it only took a slight effort to manhandle Etho’s body up on the bed with him, even while the human himself was being less than helpful. It was worth it, Grian decided, when he could curl up against Etho’s side, bodies pressed close together in order to fit the two of them on the small cot.

The only movements in the medbay for a long time were two chests rising and sinking with steadying breaths, as well as Grian’s fingers tracing nonsensical patterns over Etho’s upper back.

After some time, Etho murmured, “Did it work, then?”

“It did,” Grian said, feeling sluggish. Sleep was tugging at him, his body relaxing more and more into the warm arms that were slowly curling around him, holding him close. “Thank you. That was…”

“Yeah,” Etho replied, seeming to understand what Grian didn’t quite have the words to say. “It was. Am I being presumptuous if I ask if we could do this again sometime? Preferably several sometimes?”

If there had been any doubt left in Grian, it all left him then. “I’d like that. And not just because of… what I am. I want you to know that.”

The arms tightened around him, just for a moment, before going just as boneless as before. “Good.” Then, after a slight hesitation, “I think you should tell the crew.”

Grian tensed up a bit - but he found that the idea of it seemed less frightening than it would have, only half a day prior. “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah. They’re  _ your  _ crew, remember? They trust me - and I trust them to not act rashly.”

Grian felt his heart speeding up, just a bit - but he was still tired enough for his eyes to slip shut, forehead pressing against Etho’s chest. “And I trust you.”

Long fingers, carefully carding through his hair, making Grian sigh contently. “Yeah. And I trust you right back, if that wasn’t clear by now. Sleep, Grian. We can call a meeting in the morning.”

The idea of it was still scary, Grian found, but not enough so to keep him from sleep.

He soon drifted off with Etho’s steady heartbeat in his ear.

**Author's Note:**

> Song rec: Monsters - Ruelle


End file.
